Modern Medicine

Growing up I was always taught that pain is weakness.  My family looks down upon anyone who is ill or has a chronic health problem, whether or not its self created.  It was never okay to be sick.  So I was never sick.  I learned to just act like I was well until I was either feeling better or until I was too sick to cover it up.  I didn’t realize this was not how most people acted until I was much older.  As a result I think two things really happened.  One I am a lot less sick than most other people I have ever met.  The second is that I feel like a failure when I’m sick.  I found out in high school that I have a thyroid problem which really didn’t sit well with my family.  They didn’t really seem to want to understand what the problem was or how to treat it.  The doctor gave me a prescription and after that it was never mentioned again.  As I got older I found that nothing had really changed and started to explore what was going on.  The summer I turned 26 I was planning to have my wisdom teeth out (not looking forward to it).  I went in and they did all the pre-testing before they put you under and the doctor told me no way he was getting anywhere near me.  My blood pressure was so high that he wanted to hospitalize me.  I convinced him not to and that I would see a doctor the next day.  I did and that is the day my life changed (for the better).  I found that my thyroid problem was in no way controlled and had led to very high blood pressure (it was at levels that can cause a stroke).  The doctor put me on medication that day and it was remarkable how quickly I felt better.  Looking at my daughter today I am so grateful that I finally had to confront my medical issues.  Most women with thyroid problems as bad as mine are unable to get pregnant.  In my mind my daughter is a miracle that almost wasn’t.  I still struggle to accept that medical problems happen and they are nothing to be ashamed of, but when I look at my daughter, I thank God for modern medicine.



Mama Product of the Day:

This blanket is fabulous!!  We bought it just after our daughter was born and she slept much better wrapped in it. We stopped swaddling when she was about 3 months old because we thought she had outgrown it, but have recently started up again. This blanket has made the transition from newborn to larger baby very nicely.  We are able to wrap her up securely and it is darn cute. It’s a light weight material that works great in any weather I put her in a onsie normally but if it’s too hot just a diaper, if it’s cold I add socks.